Meet the man who turns big cats into movie stars

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Frenchman Thierry Le Portier has been training big cats for the past 49 years

Three of his tigers were used as references for the Oscar-nominated film "Life of Pi"

Le Portier says training is "an art" that takes time and an understanding of the animals

He says the only animals that scare him are those that have been made "exotic pets"

For the past 49 years French animal trainer, Thierry Le Portier, 63, has been a calm handler of wild felines. Growing up he had originally wanted to be a gym teacher, but after catching a glimpse of a lion tamer during a trip to the zoo in Marseille, Le Portier decided to give up his hobbies -- rugby and judo -- to spend every free afternoon watching the tamer at work.

On his 17th birthday, Le Portier was finally given the opportunity he had patiently been waiting for when before the show began, as the lights dimmed, the trainer surprised the teenager by forcing him on to center stage.

"He grabbed me by the shoulders, pushed me in the cage just before a show with a lioness and said, "go!" And I did the whole show," he said.

The show was so successful that Le Portier was confident he had found his vocation and was soon touring Europe with his act. So remarkable was his skill that Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini called on the talented young tamer for a scene involving a lion in his 1974 film "Arabian Nights."

Le Portier quickly became a specialist of big-cat scenes and after Pasolini came other famous screen directors such as Jean-Jacques Annaud with "Two Brothers," Ridley Scott with "Gladiator," and more recently Ang Lee with "Life of Pi," which stars a digital tiger.

In fact, Le Portier said he was only scared of one type of animal, the kind which has been raised by humans as an exotic "pet," the one that "looks dead behind the eyes." Le Portier believes these are prowling "time bombs." He warns that one day their natural instincts flood back and without warning they turn aggressive -- these wild animals were never made to be patted.

"I'm not meant to be his friend; you are never his real friend. You have to intimidate him," Le Portier said.

Oscars 2013

We asked CNN readers to vote for their favorite Oscar nominees in the weeks leading up to the 85th Academy Awards. As it turns out, you were pretty spot-on, predicting four of the six major categories correctly.

"Argo," which told the story of the rescue operation that saved six Americans during the Iran hostage crisis, took home three Oscars at the 85th Academy Awards, including the biggest award of the night: best picture.

Oscar winners use most of their onstage time thanking the Academy, their co-stars, agents, lawyers, family and God. Some of their best quotes happen backstage with reporters, where there is no orchestra poised to play them off.